The Forbidden Meal

(This follows the actions of the first story, The White Cat). You arrive home with the white cat, and all seems great, when you realize the cat must be fed, but a normal palate won't suffice.

You Continue

Your sense of smell is overwhelmed by the putrefying stench of an abundance of cat food spread across the tiled floor.

 

You sit in a corner, with hands on your head and elbows on your knees, while a small white figure is waiting expectantly in front of you, with their head tilted in confusion at your futile attempts.

 

"What does this cat eat!?" You voice in annoyance and disbelief at what you got yourself into. No matter what you tried to feed the cat, they would just scoff at you and walk away.

 

You still remember what a pain the first day was, when you arrived at your run-down apartment in the middle of nowhere, where the streetlights flicker in an odd rhythm, where you don't even know if the landlord is still alive, where everything suddenly seemed so desolate, so lonely, so dark.

 

You never questioned the nature of your surroundings, not until you came back with the cat.

 

After the realization that you can no longer have a normal life, the existence of monster-like creatures disguised in animals, you started to ponder your reality.

 

You shook your head, throwing away these thoughts, and further embraced the cat in your arms. You steeled your nerves and made your decision, to fully understand the creature that is in front of you, to get closer to them, only then can you find your answers, you thought.

 

You opened the door to your apartment.

 

Almost instantly the cat jumped out of your arms and into the darkness that is your home. You just stared at the white cat as they ran inside.

 

You got yourself situated in, flicking on the lights that took a second to fully brighten up, and basked in your home abode.

 

The hall that led to three separate rooms was made of cement-like walls, an ugly white with messy stains all over, and no furniture whatsoever.

 

You took off your shoes and bolted to the room in front of you, laying down on the single most comfy place in this apartment - your bed.

 

You turn to face the ceiling, only to find the cat looking down at you.

 

You purse your lips and stare at them.

 

Their cat body is hanging off the ceiling by some kind of white substance that seems to melt from their legs, spreading onto the ceiling to support them. You suddenly recall your memories of your first encounter and gulp cautiously.

 

"They wouldn't, right?"

 

You extend your arms above you as an invitation to the cat, while you get up in a sitting position, your head on the bed board.

 

The cat seems interested in your proposal, slowly coming down from the ceiling, that white substance stretching thinner and thinner, almost transforming back into their legs.

 

When they started falling faster, you expected to be met with a thud on your chest, but instead the sound of crashing glass in the next room took their full attention, their eyes trained on the door of this room, when suddenly the cat pushed off the wall with massively sized legs, vaporizing into the hall.

 

You let a couple of seconds pass, honestly exhausted from everything that's happened, as well as the weird mark on your left hand that seemed to have grown a bit longer, but unnoticeable.

 

You flex your hand as if something magical is going to happen, but you're just unsure of what to make of all this.

 

You took on something greater than the concept of this world, yet you're still unaware of the implications your bond with the cat has.

 

What is in it for the cat to offer you a second chance when they themselves break the balance of the world, when they could so easily claw you and eat you....

 

What did they mean by losing your humanity?

 

Amidst your internal rambling, you hear paws stepping into the room, and as you turn your head towards the door, you see the white cat laying down on the floor, and next to them a dead rat stabbed by their spear tail.

 

"Oh, so it was a tiny rat?" You exclaim to the cat.

 

"Good job, cutie." You tilt your head in a proud manner, bringing your legs off the bed and facing them.

 

Immediately, the cat's tail extends itself towards you, stopping with the rat above your stomach.

 

You cup your hands in front of you, and can't help but be mesmerized by the transformations of their tail.

 

How fluidly flesh separates from itself, stretching bits of bone that harden just as fast as a new form appears, how skin spirals towards the edge and white fur blooms from nothing.

 

How effortlessly they manipulate every detail of their body, how a tail comes to become a hunting weapon and a graceful display of care and hospitality.

 

In such manner, you find your hands to be full of evenly sized bites of a dead rat, save for the tail that sits on top of everything like the cherry on a cake.

 

You look back at the cat, where their scissors tail reverts, and their orange eyes overlook you.

 

They seem to expect you to eat the carefully prepared rat.

 

You almost gag at the idea, feeling your stomach turn in oppression and your heart rate picking up.

 

You let out a chuckle to the insanity of this situation, failing in calming yourself down.

 

You look at the cat again, maybe to ask to pass this time.

 

But the moment your eyes connect, you feel your entire body freezing up, stopping you from breathing, only your wide eyes able to recognize how dangerous the creature in front of you really is.

 

From the shadow they create, you see a semblance of hell, horrors beyond your comprehension, and how their body slowly deforms, signaling impatience.

 

You look down in hesitation, picking up the rat's head by the tips of your fingers, seeing how blood drips from them, how squishy their internals are, and how disgusting this is.

 

You open your mouth, and the moment it touches your tongue, you deflect in disgust, but when you open your eyes and see the spear tail of the cat mere inches from your pupils, you were never as fast as this moment.

 

You swallow.

 

The remains of the rat coating the inside of your esophagus as well as the splash of it in your stomach almost instantly makes you puke it out, but the presence of the cat teaches you not to, so you live again through swallowing the rat head through all the pent-up puke, acid burning through the entirety of your mouth and neck, until you forcefully stop your body from reacting.

 

You gasp for air while coughing and tears flooding your face, grabbing your neck to offer some kind of comfort.

 

You are sitting on all fours on the ground, with your forehead on the floor, trying to force through the disgust and your body's rejection to the food.

 

As you regain your integrity, the cat approaches you and rubs their head on your arm, seemingly content with your cooperation.

 

You smile at their affection, only to realize you are falling in deeper in their grasp, but pay no mind to it.

 

You get up and sweep the other pieces of the dead rat and bring them to the trash can.

 

Only then you realize, the cat fed you, but who's going to feed the cat?

 

You run into the kitchen, the room on the right from the hall, and straight to the fridge.

 

Never mind the lack of human food, what's missing is cat food, and not only you feel guilty, but fear for what's to happen if you don't feed them.

 

You quickly prepare to leave for the nearest store, but debate on leaving the cat at home or not.

 

You open the front door and slowly step out, watching what they will do. They seem to just sit and stare at you, not moving a muscle.

 

"I'll be back quick, okay? Make yourself at home till then." You say to the cat before making your way down the road.

 

It is the dead of the night, a full moon blown right in the middle of the sky amidst the shiny stars.

 

Across the dark neighborhood you see the shine of a small gas station, and you sprint towards it.

 

The automatic doors slide to reveal a store lit up by a green-ish yellow light, almost empty white shelves in the middle and a couple of fridges on the right wall.

 

To the left you see the cashier, a man of late age in a green uniform, completely oblivious to your entry.

 

You circle the contents of the store a couple of times, but there is no cat food to speak off. You sigh heavily while making your way out when the cashier almost scares you.

 

"May... I help you?" He says in a low, almost strained voice.

 

"Yeah, well, I came for some cat food, but I see you don't have any." You say as a matter-of-fact way.

 

"You sure?" The old man perks up slightly and turns around to find something behind the counter.

 

"You're lucky I kept these hidden, some other sketchy guy was also looking for cat food." He says as he places 6 packs of varied tastes of cat food on the counter.

 

"A sketchy guy? Can't be if he's looking to feed his cat"

 

"You say that, but no one can know the truth from what we outsiders see."

 

You let out an affirmative breath at his remark, weirded out by his "conspiracies", you call them.

 

You grab the packets and head for the door, only to feel your body stop dead in its tracks, a force pulling on your right arm staggering you to almost fall over.

 

"I'm not finished." He says with an annoyed tone.

 

"You be careful on your way back, young one, you don't know what "animals" lurk around..." He emphasized the word "animals" with spitting venom, as if the sole thought enraged him.

 

In your racing heart rate you pull away from the old man, gripping the packets and walking away.

 

"Also, you got a nice mark on you there, bud."

 

The old man says nonchalantly, and upon realizing what he meant you turned almost instantly to face him, only to see that he was no longer there.

 

He may have hid behind the counter or what not, but the idea of a ghost scared you from out of the store.

 

You bolt towards your house, running in the middle of the street with houses either side of you, and in the stretching horizon of this road you see shining lights coming closer.

 

You slow your pace, just to realize it's the reflection of some cats' eyes, their gaze fixed towards the moon. You pay no mind to them, if only they were the sole entity.

 

Further down the street you see multiple pair of cats, just sitting and staring up. It's almost as if they are creating an archway for your arrival or something.

 

Creeped out, you rush towards your house with your head down, hugging the packets of cat food.

 

The presence of light woke you back into reality, having finally arrived at your apartment.

 

You almost bust down the door, falling in the hallway, the packets of food scattering over the floor.

 

You take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down. You peek up to see the white cat coming into the hall, their tail reaching for the door to close it.

 

"I'm back..." You say as you let out a small chuckle, almost embarrassed by your display.

 

You prop yourself up in a crisscross position, picking up the packets and holding them as playing cards.

 

"So, I've got some food here, let's get them ready?" You say to the cat, and they just tilt their head in confusion, not even a single meow.

 

You realize they never spoke, never let a sound out, but you don't let it bother you. You stand up and walk to the room on the right, where the kitchen is, and immediately stop in your tracks at the broken cup of glass on the floor.

 

"Oh yeah, that rat did this..." You exclaim a bit dejected, memories of your recent "meal" coming up.

 

You shake that thought away, grabbing a broom and swiping the glass into a corner.

 

You open one of the cherry wood cupboards and take out a small metal bowl, just big enough for the whole packet to fit in.

 

You take a small sample of its smell, identifying mainly beef, since you forgot to look at the packaging.

 

You place the metal bowl on the tiled floor and call for the cat.

 

They come running almost instantly, but only towards you, rubbing their head on your leg.

 

You had to force them to look at the food, picking them up and placing them in front of the bowl, honestly surprised they did not retaliate at your touch.

 

They only smelled the food for a split second, the next twisting their head away in disgust. You make the conclusion they either are not hungry or detest beef.

 

You open another package, this time something out of fish, but they still reject it.

 

You open another one.

 

And another one.

 

All the packages are undone, an overpowering smell of processed cat food filling the kitchen.

 

You just stand there, with your fingers pinching your nose closed, questioning your existence.

 

"Guess you must not be hungry right now..." You slouch and let out a big sigh, annoyed at the current mess.

 

Maybe they'll eat something if it's out and accessible, you thought to yourself as you made your way to your bed.

 

You plop down onto the bed, with your limbs extended like a starfish, as you let your exhaustion get the better of you, putting you to sleep.

 

~~~

 

You wake up to the smell of putrefied food encapsulating your apartment.

 

With the lights still on, you rush to the kitchen as you remember to have left out a lot of cat food. But when you enter you are met with something unexpected.

 

The entirety of the ceiling is covered with white fur, spreading into a spiral pattern at each of the room's corners, and in the middle hangs down the white cat, only above their chest you can see them, and you notice how their form slowly melts into the ceiling.

 

It's very close to absorbing their own head, so you just panic, this obviously being a very bad sign.

 

You quickly open the fridge and pick up the first food item, some salami, and just... throw at the cat.

 

You thought the impact or at least the smell of food would take their attention, but they just don't budge.

 

You rummage through the countless cabinets you have, finally arriving at the lowest one, a black handle differentiating it from the rest, you open it and find a can of sardines.

 

You also pick up a can opener and get to work.

 

You peek at the cat, seeing how only their black tipped ears are now visible, a frenzy shooting through your body.

 

I can't lose them! You think to yourself.

 

As you try to open the can with rushed movement, your hand slips just as it was about to fully open, the sharp edges of the can flying and cutting through your left palm up to your wrist.

 

You immediately fall down and grip your hand, pushing yourself to one of the corners.

 

"D****t d****t d****t!" You let out exasperated breaths at your clumsiness.

 

"Am I really gonna bleed out and forsake them!?" You ask yourself rather harshly considering the minor injury, but the haze your mind is in completely overwhelms your rationality.

 

You peek once more towards the cat while your bleeding arm is pointed upwards, and see their ears twitching.

 

Not even a moment later, all of the white mass spread out slowly gathers itself towards the cat, pulling at the inseams of the roof, making a mess of this place.

 

The mass spirals into the white cat's form, and they drop down majestically, cushioning their fall with more of that substance.

 

They slowly approach you, bright orange eyes locked onto your arm, but stop a couple of inches from you.

 

You offer your hand.

 

Their tail suddenly spirals around your upper arm, around your elbow, and pulls you slightly closer.

 

You comply, and can't help but admire this tail of theirs, so you just pet it ever so slowly as they do their feeding.

 

The white cat starts licking the blood from your arm, the sensation of a coarse tongue missing, nothing like a normal cat, but you come to like the gentleness of their mimicry.

 

A part of you accepts that they are just a monster, a mimic in disguise, an otherworldly creature capable of killing, an entity devoid of feelings, based only on instinct and benefits, but another part hopes for the warmth a living being gives, never mind their origin, just the thought of a consensual existence, something to overwrite the feeling of loneliness, someone you can care for, and be cared for.

 

As you relax your entire body, content with the consequences, their tail starts to let go of your arm while still collecting every bit of blood from your hand.

 

You reach with your right hand over their head and pet them gently, feeling their fine white fur and how amazingly soft it is.

 

"Found your favorite delicacy, huh?" You exclaim ironically as the cat finishes up licking your blood.

 

You'll have to do something about this, since they crave your blood, you'll probably suffer a lot, you think to yourself.

 

But the joy you feel as their face slowly lifts from your hand, licking the remaining blood off of their snout, how their tail wags so smoothly it's hypnotizing, and those golden eyes of the-

 

Your thoughts got interrupted at the image before you.

 

The white is contrasted with a deep dark red, swirling strings of bright red within their eyes.

 

Your heart skips a beat, and not at the horror of this phenomena, but how well it complements their existence.

 

You're sure you've fallen for this cat, and now that you're their blood bag essentially, you can't escape anymore, so why not enjoy this moment?

 

"What should I call you?" You ask as you pick up the cat and hold them in the air.

 

As soon as you do that, the mark on your left hand glows a bright white, shining enough to blind you.

 

In that moment, you've come to realize the weight this cat has on you.

 

How ever since you met them, your life has turned for the weird.

 

You've suffered more in these moments than your entire life, but you've also felt a warmth unheard of.

 

You almost lost your life to them, but they adopted you, made you feel useful, like you were cared for.

 

And you certainly are interested in the nature of their being.

 

Like so, the next words escape your mouth.

 

"Dawn".

 

This white cat is the bringer of light in your life, the hope you see in this world, as well as the start of an adventure unknown to anyone.

 

The room slowly starts to return to normal as the mark stops glowing, and you let the cat down.

 

"Mrow!"

 

They finally spoke.

 

Such a soft and mellow voice they have, echoing through the kitchen.

 

It's quite high pitched even for a cat, but you smile to your ears.

 

"Glad to have you, Dawn."

You Lived

Author's Note

This is the second story of an ?ongoing? series regarding the White Cat. I'm still hesitant regarding the lore of this universe, so these are more like temporary stories. I'm still up for advice, and I want feedback regarding this "your perspective" style of writing.